Letting Go
by kate438
Summary: Sequel to "Friends With Shadows" The consequences of Eric's actions seem unbearable to friends and family.
1. Hyde

The whole plot of this fic is to see how the rest of the gang deals with the death of Eric. I'm not sure how many chapters this is going to be but I do plan to write a chapter for each of the remaining characters, including Red and Kitty. This is Hyde's chapter, Enjoy!  
  
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I was sitting in the kitchen, watching Kitty go about the counters donning her slippers and nightgown, getting all the ingredients for a cup of coffee. It was almost midnight; there was a lone light on shining over the stove. There was just enough light to see the outline and label of the objects in the cupboard. I watched as she turned and smiled at me.  
  
"Hello, Steven." she said, her face smiling. "Why up so late?" I shrugged my shoulders, not speaking. I was up because I never could sleep all that well and also...I was worried about Eric. He'd been looking terrible for almost two months now...sad, withdrawn, just, I don't know, not Eric. I've tried talking to him but somehow it just gets me nowhere, he's just as distant as he was the day before. There is a possibility that makes sense but it's just not him...he could be on...I don't want to think about it. Kitty sat down next to me, coffee cup in hand.  
  
"It's just..." I began, then stopping, not quite sure how to finish my thought. I wanted to tell my suspicions to her but I didn't want to accuse Eric of anything. I knew Kitty was just as concerned as I was and that she was up and down in the kitchen for the same reason I was. This whole situation was eating me up from inside. It was like standing on one side of a glass wall and seeing Eric slipping away and being so close but unable to reach him. I felt helpless.  
  
"It's Eric, isn't it?" she said. I noticed how her smile had faded and was replaced with concern that occupied her features. I nodded as she continued to speak. "Mr. Foreman and I..." she was interrupted by a muffled shattering of glass and an inhuman cry coming from the basement. I felt my body go cold, beginning with my hands and ending with my toes. The voice was unmistakably Eric's. I looked at Kitty and saw the fear and pain in her eyes as she screamed for Red.  
  
I felt like my body was make of lead, since it felt like an eternity as we all ran down the basement stairs, scared of what we were going to find. All I could hear was the thump of our footsteps and the haunting scream coming from the basement. Kitty reached the bottom of the stairs first and I knew it bad from the way her voice caught in her throat, a cross between a sob and yell. I watched Red stop, frozen in place.  
  
"Jesus..." he muttered. I pushed past him and Kitty, wanting to see what triggered such emotions. I ran, in what seemed like slow motion, to the couch, then stopped unable to bring myself closer. I felt the bile rising into my throat as I looked at my closest friend. My eyes drifted to the table, stopping upon a vial of liquid, then looking at the floor. The needle was sitting on a pile of broken glass. I felt like someone had sucker punched me in the stomach.  
  
"No! No! No!" I didn't even realize that I was screaming. Eric was laying upon the couch, shivering, eyes wide and soaked with sweat. His entire body was white, except for the red circles around his eyes. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows and the crimson track marks spoke louder than words. I watched as Kitty approached him, feeling for a pulse, then losing her composure for a moment. She bent down and kissed his forehead quickly before turning and running up the stairs.  
  
"I'm...I'm calling an ambulance!" I watched Red turn to follow her, looking as though he was unsure of what to do next. He paused, then turned, ran to Eric and smoothed his hair back and told him to hang in there. Red then ran up the stairs to Kitty.  
  
I walked closer to Eric, feeling my knees give out as I watched him shake uncontrollably. I realized that I was crying.  
  
"Why, man?! Why, Foreman?!!" I cried out, unable to hold the anguish in. I took his hand, and gulped as I realized he was burning hot. "I would have helped you." I said quietly, letting my tears hit the basement pavement. I could hear sirens in the distance, filling me with the smallest sliver of hope. "Hold on, Eric, hold on." I said, more for my sake than his. I took in air with big gulps trying to compose myself. Eric had begun to shake even more, his slightly glazed over eyes staring blankly to the left. I watched as his eyes rolled back into his head and the shaking ceased.  
  
"Eric? Eric?!" I yelled. I was pulled back by a strong hand that I realized was a paramedic's. I fell hard against the cement, watching in horror as three paramedics lifted Eric's almost lifeless body onto a stretcher. There was already tubing everywhere and one of the men performing CPR. I got up and followed them up the stairs, along with Kitty and Red, out to the ambulance.  
  
The red and blue lights of the ambulance were flashing, lighting up the dark street in a surreal way with their glow. There were people outside, watching...watching the whole painful mess play out in front of them like a bad movie. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Donna running toward me.  
  
"Mrs. Foreman! Mr. Foreman! Hyde!" she was screaming, tears streaming down her face. I knew she had already seen Eric. I caught her, holding her back. She was shaking as she screamed Eric's name. I held on, needing someone to hold onto. She turned to me, looking me in the eyes, then wrapping her arms around me, as I did the same. "Why? Why did this happen?" she asked me, calming down the slightest bit. I told her I didn't know. Bob walked up behind her.  
  
"Sweetie..." he began. "They're taking him to General..." he paused. "Let's go...Hyde, you too."  
  
I let go of Donna and we piled into the Pinciotti's car. It was a silent, somber ride to the hospital, except for the quiet sniffle or sob. The streets were deserted. People were happily asleep in their homes, unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding in the lives of their neighbors. I wanted to scream... to scream how unfair this was...to everybody. I wanted everybody to feel this pain, this ugly, awful, uncontrollable pain. The red light of the 'emergency' sign cast everybody in the car with the soft glow of red, blending in with our red eyes and cheeks. Mr. Pinciotti put the car in park and we hurried into the emergency room. Kitty and Red were sitting in two chairs, Kitty softly crying and Red wiping away the tears before they had a chance to fall beyond his eyes.  
  
"Kitty, Red..." Mr. Pinciotti said, as we numbly walked over to them. I sat next to Kitty, putting my arms around her, Donna sitting next to me, leaning up against me. Kitty took my hand gripping it tightly. I watched as Bob put his hand on Red's shoulder, offering comfort. Red just nodded fiercely in response. We sat like that a moment, just relieved to be in the presence of people who cared.  
  
We watched the doors leading to the hospital anxiously. Somewhere behind those doors was where Eric was dying or living or maybe even already dead. Minutes passed like hours, an hour seemed like an eternity. We sat there in tense silence until finally, the door opened and a doctor adorned in what I assumed to be emergency gear walking into the waiting room. He looked down at a clipboard then spoke.  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Foreman?" he called. Kitty and Red jumped up, hurrying to him. We all watched, afraid of what news the doctor would bring. He motioned for Kitty and Red to follow him into the hallway, speaking to them while wearing a serious expression, Kitty and Red listening intently. We couldn't hear what he was saying; all we could see was their faces through the window. I reached for Donna's hand, gripping it tight and looking her in the eyes for a brief second before returning my gaze to the window. I saw the doctor put his hand on Red's shoulder and Kitty's face crumple into what could only be the anguish of a mother losing her son.  
  
Two Hours Later...  
  
I sat silently on the couch in the basement next to Donna, both of us staring strait ahead. We could hear the voices and footsteps of Eric's relatives upstairs, trying to console Kitty and Red. I kept thinking about how it was like a being in a dream state when Kitty and Red walked over to us, telling us of the news of Eric's death. Heroin overdose. Those words kept ringing in my ears like a record on repeat, words that I just couldn't get out of my head. I looked aver at Donna.  
  
"He's really gone." I said, for the first time realizing this. Donna looked aver at me, tears starting to fall again.  
  
"I know." 


	2. Donna

Donna's Chapter.  
  
Eric is gone. That has pretty much been my mantra these last few days, along with 'why?'. Confusion is another feeling that has occupied my mind. I leaned back against the soft pillows of my bed, turning my head to the left.  
  
I looked at a picture of us standing next to the Vista Cruiser, that was on my nightstand. It was sunny out and we were leaning up against the hood. We looked quite happy, Eric looked happy. The picture was taken only a month ago, but a month seems like it was an eternity ago. I eyed the picture again.  
  
"I loved you, Eric." I said, almost silently to myself. I could feel the hot tears well up in my eyes again and I knew they would eventually spill. "Why didn't you talk to me?"  
  
I sighed and rolled over. His funeral was today. I didn't want to go but I knew deep down that if I didn't, I might regret it for the rest of my life. It's just that I don't think I could bear seeing Eric in that state, so cold...so lifeless. I already saw too much when he was being wheeled out from his house. I know that's something I won't be able to erase from my memory. At least, not for awhile.  
  
It is 8:22 a.m. The funeral is in an hour. I guess I should get ready.  
  
Well, I'm standing here. At Eric's funeral.  
  
People are standing in small groups, talking, whispering, crying. The whole place looks like a sea of black clumps and Eric's casket, being the centerpiece. I'm standing the farthest I can get from Eric. I just haven't worked up the courage to say goodbye yet.  
  
For now, I watch the people. I watch as Jackie and Kelso talked in hushed voices to each other. I watch Kitty being consoled by her co workers and Red talking with my Dad.  
  
The air seems to be tainted. People whisper, look... it seems like it's passing from person to person.  
  
Overdose. Drug Addict.  
  
I want to scream at the top of my lungs that that wasn't who Eric was. He wasn't like that.  
  
I have to get out of here or I fear I will suffocate. I'm almost to the door when I hear my name.  
  
"Donna." It was Kitty. I turned to face her.  
  
"Mrs. Forman." I said, surprised that she wasn't with the rest of the crowd. She gave me a wan smile.  
  
"I, um..." She began, stumbling a bit. " We found these in Eric's room." She held something out to me and I looked down to find three tattered, worn notebooks in her hands.  
  
"What are these?" I asked, curiosity had taken me over.  
  
"Journals...Eric's." She said. "I've already read through them, and well, I thought maybe you'd want to read them too." I took them from her hands. I looked down at the cover of the first one. It was blue and Eric's name, along with 'Star Wars Rules' was written across the front in black marker. I looked back up at Kitty.  
  
"Thank you." I said, then impulsively gave her a hug. After we parted, she gave me a simple nod and left me alone.  
  
I walked out into the into the cool morning air, sat down on the ground opened the first journal and began to read.  
  
This is just sort of a preface to the next couple of chapters, which will be Eric's journal entries. I'll try to have them up as soon as I can. Thanks. 


End file.
